Jindal takes stage in GOP initiative against health law

Gov. Bobby Jindal has taken a prominent role in the Republican Party's response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the anchor provisions of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, using the opportunity to restate his refusal to expand Medicaid in Louisiana or establish private insurance exchanges.

Hilary Scheinuk, The Times-Picayune archiveGov. Bobby Jindal

"Every governor's got two critical decisions to make," Jindal said Sunday on NBC's "Meet The Press." "One is do we set up these exchanges. And, secondly, do we expand Medicaid. And, no, in Louisiana, we're not doing either one of those things. I don't think it makes sense to do those. I think it makes more sense to do everything we can to elect (presumptive GOP nominee) Mitt Romney to repeal Obamacare."

The governor appeared on the Sunday morning talk show opposite Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor, presidential candidate and past chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Jindal, seen as a potential Romney running mate, made the same pledge on a Republican National Committee conference call Friday, one day after Chief Justice John Roberts, a Republican appointee, led a 5-4 majority that upheld nearly all of the 2010 law, much of which has yet to be implemented.

The court did strike a key mandate that would have forced states to expand their Medicaid insurance program to cover more low-income residents, with the federal government picking up nearly all of the cost. Under Roberts' opinion, states will choose whether to participate.

In Louisiana, the expansion could reach hundreds of thousands of people, something Dean seized upon, chiding Jindal for presiding over a state he said is "48th in the country in terms of child poverty, 48th in the country in terms of premature death, 48th in the country in terms of industrial accidents and so forth. Just by expanding Medicaid alone, by accepting the president's Medicaid expansion, 340,000 out of those 860,000 uninsured people get covered."

Philosophical choices

Dean and Jindal each framed the health care debate and the presidential election as fundamental philosophical choices. Shifting his critique from Louisiana to Texas, Dean said, "I don't want to live in a country where 20 percent" of children have no health insuranace, citing the Texas statistic. "Those are American children."

"Now, look, I do agree we need to reform the health insurance marketplace. I do agree the status quo's not acceptable. I just don't think this expensive, unsustainable entitlement program is the solution to our problems."

Jindal noted that about 97 percent of Louisiana children have health insurance, though he did not mention that it was a state expansion of Medicaid that has yielded such a rate.

Individual mandate

Both Dean and Gregory noted that Romney, as Massachusetts governor, sought and signed a universal health care law pegged to a requirement that individuals purchase insurance. Gregory played video of then-Gov. Romney saying: "With regards to the individual mandate, the individual responsibility program that I proposed, I was very pleased that the compromise between the two houses includes the personal responsibility mandate. That is essential for bringing the health care costs down for everyone and getting everyone the health insurance they need."

Jindal dismissed the idea that Romney is hypocritical or inconsistent. "Mitt Romney's always been against the national mandate, " he said, arguing that "the founding fathers" wanted states to make their own policy choices. "Mardi Gras is great for Louisiana (but) may not work as well in Vermont or other states. The reality is what works in Massachusetts may not be appropriate to another state."

After the health care discussion, Gregory asked Jindal his views on The Times-Picayune's plans to reduce its print publication schedule from seven days to three, in favor of a greater concentration on its online operation.

"I think the daily newspaper, the printed newspaper, plays an important role in holding government accountable, uniting our people, " Jindal said. "I think that they played such a critical role after Katrina, bringing news to people even when their presses were flooded. I'm saddened by this development. Even though I don't always agree with their editorial positions and their reporting, I am still saddened by the fact that we're going to have a great American city without a major daily newspaper. I don't think that's a good development for democracy."

Staff writer Bruce Alpert contributed to this story. Bill Barrow can be reached at bbarrow@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3452.